If a structure is to be occupied when hurricane panels are installed, it is necessary to have at least one opening where the hurricane protection system can be secured and removed from inside the structure. While other more expensive hurricane protection systems such as accordion shutters can be opened and closed from inside the structure, hurricane panels typically can only be attached or removed from outside of the structure.
In recent years, many local governments in hurricane prone regions have mandated in their building codes that all new structures must have hurricane protection. Some coastal counties have further mandated that all structures, new or existing, have hurricane protection installed. Furthermore, most insurance companies either require or offer significant discounts for the installation of hurricane protection. Of the many hurricane protection products available, hurricane shutter panels are the most affordable. With the proliferation of hurricane protection, more people will rely on their hurricane protection. As a result, less people will evacuate and more people will stay in their homes during a storm. The incidence of fires during power failures are much higher as a result of the use of lamps and candles. As more people stay in shuttered homes during hurricanes, it is likely that more people will need egress from their homes in an emergency. In fact, many local governments already require emergency egress from at least one opening in every bedroom. One major draw-back of hurricane panels, however, is they can usually only be installed and removed from the outside of a structure. Other systems for providing hurricane protection such as roll down and accordion shutters, and impact glass, which can be opened and closed from inside a building, are substantially more expensive than hurricane shutter panels. The instant invention solves this problem by facilitating the quick release of hurricane shutter panels from inside a structure with minimal additional costs. The system works in conjunction with industry standard hurricane hardware and installation methods and provides an affordable solution to creating emergency egress through openings protected by hurricane shutter panels.
When mounting hurricane panels utilizing this invention, at least one panel or series of panels covering a window or door opening is mounted in a way that allows the panel(s) to be removed from inside the structure. This permits egress from the structure through openings normally blocked when hurricane panels are installed. Typically, only one door opening is the primary means of egress from the structure. Enabling the removal of hurricane protection from the inside of the structure usually involves more expensive hurricane protection products such as accordion shutters. While it is desirable to have more than one means of egress, in case the primary means of egress becomes unusable, many home or business owners choose to use the much more affordable hurricane panel rather than alternate protection systems which typically cost three to five times as much as panels. The present invention seeks to overcome these limitations by providing a hurricane panel mounting system and method that can be used in conjunction with industry standard installation techniques. The invention described herein permits hurricane panels, mounted with or without mounting track to be removed from within the structure. The system and method of the present invention may, for example, work with standard installation tracks and accessories, as well as existing direct mount systems, and is typically reusable.